Glitching
by brunette89
Summary: Glitch shares his perspective on the budding relationship between Cain and DG... and his frustrations. Written for fic-exchange on LJ.


Dg, Cain, and I all wandered the inner court plaza of Central City as the All-Hallows Eve celebration flared around us. I followed the should-be pair, observing their every move. Dg's eyes were alive with awe as she watched the Tamshie dancers in velvet robes, swirling around a purple fire. All of a sudden, something caught Dg's eye.

"Ooh Cain! Look, Samhain fire-eaters!" Dg grabbed Cain's hand and pointed towards several Guiser men on stilts. I ran behind them, trying to see just where Dg was headed. One of the men on stilts lowered a giant torch blazing with green flames towards his lips and then released it, sending a fire-shaped dragon into the air. Dg gasped and hid behind Cain's arm in partial fright. I watched how Dg reacted to every flinching muscle in Cain's arm, while he remained totally stoic. I couldn't believe how little emotion the man showed towards her. How could Cain be so daft? He had an attractive princess hanging off his arm, and all he could do was stand there. Dg seemed to notice Cain's standoffish persona and she quickly let go of his rigid arm.

"Come on, Deej," I resolved to rescue her from her awkward bodyguard and offered her my arm. Dg smiled thankfully at me and shot a longing look back at Cain. Lucky for me, her worry with Cain didn't last long, and soon another thing caught her eye.

"Glitch! I want to have my face painted!" Dg pointed to the booth where a young girl was having a butterfly painted on her face by a beautiful faerie. I watched where she pointed and saw another gorgeous faerie emerge from a caravan. All together too happy to oblige Dg's request, I smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Doll."

Dg clapped her hands in delight and laughed. I looked back at Cain briefly and noticed how he was staring at the back of Dg's head… it was like he was in a trance. Dg sat down on a stool in front of the gorgeous faerie, who smiled lovingly and bowed in respect.

"Princess. What can I do for you?"

"I would like you to paint a faerie on my cheek… if you please." Dg smiled, pointing to her right cheek. The woman nodded and smiled, pulling out an extremely vivid pallet of colors. The faerie pulled out an exquisite brush and wet it on her tongue before twirling the tip between her mile-long fingers. Dg sat as still as she could as the woman painted diligently, but she was so excited that her hands began to fidget.

"Princess, you must remain still if I am to properly paint your cheek," The woman cooed kindly. Dg nodded, but she immediately began fidgeting again. The faerie stopped and motioned to Cain who came to her.

"Hold her hands." She smiled gently, as if she knew something that nobody else did. She met my eyes and winked. I nodded ever so slightly towards Dg to explain what I had noticed about them, and the woman smiled in response. Cain remained stiff as a board until Dg put her hand on his forearm, which seemed to result in the Tin Man melting to his knees. I furrowed my brow at this. Not five minutes ago, Cain had been sullen and stiff… but now his knees buckled under the slightest touch from the Princess. Cain hesitantly took Dg's hands and looked at her knees, once again his usual fixed self. I surveyed Dg's face as she studied Cain's, trying to understand his multiple personalities. As I watched Cain's hands stiffen in Dg's, I felt the overwhelming urge to punch the man in the face, which I was sure could be done pretty easily. He didn't see how much the Princess was in love with him. Maybe she didn't know it herself. The one thing that solidified my thoughts was the way Dg's eyes sparkled when they connected with Cain's on just one occasion.

"Done." The faerie woman murmured melodically, causing Dg to jump.

"Let's see it, Doll." I smiled at her and she turned her cheek toward me, revealing the masterpiece of a face painting to the tin man and myself alike. Cain looked up, hands still clutching Dg's hands very tightly.

"Wow…" Cain breathed. I noticed that the man seemed overcome all of a sudden with something beyond his control, and the Tin Man suddenly lifted his hand and every so gently touched the wing of the painted faerie on her cheek. The painted faerie really was exquisitely beautiful, but it wasn't as if none of us had ever seen faerie art before. I raised an eyebrow, amused with Cain's trance-like actions. Suddenly, as if he had been shocked, Cain pulled back his hand and stood quickly, backing into me and stomping on my instep.

"Ow! Wanna dance, Tin Man?" I cringed, hopping on one foot. One thing I could say for him, the man had the worst rhythm I'd ever seen. He grabbed my arm to steady me, and Dg was forgotten in his eyes once again. I saw her shoulders slump out of the corner of my eye and I offered her a warm smile, which she received kindly.

"Here," Dg handed the woman a few shiny colcannon for the face paint, but she kindly declined the payment.

"To see the way he looks at you… that is payment enough," the woman only whispered to Dg, but I caught the choice words. Cain must've heard them too because he nostrils flared and he pulled the fedora further over his eyes.

If only Cain knew how obvious he was being.

***

Dg wanted nothing more than to ride the beautiful chestnut destrier; I could see it in her face as she watched it trot around the field behind the fence. Personally, I had no interest in riding horses; we could do that any day of the week, but whatever Dg wanted… I sighed and Cain looked over at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" I asked sullenly.

"What's your problem, Glitch?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"I want you to either get her on that damn horse, or buy her the biggest puff of cotton candy you've ever seen in your life." I crossed my arms and mimicked his raised eyebrow.

"She is not riding that thing; it's a thoroughbred Destrian war horse. Even I couldn't control that beast," He added, folding his arms to face me. I glanced to Dg… or rather where Dg had just been… when I saw her throwing her leg over the saddle of the giant animal.

"You better tell her that…" I pointed towards the gallivanting princess and Cain looked like he was going to be sick.

"Dg, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He ran over to the fence and cleared it with ease, leaving me to watch him, laughing. Dg easily maneuvered the beast with the slightest tug on the reigns and turned to face Cain. She didn't say anything; her wink did all the talking as she turned the horse around, threw a few gold colcannon to the handler, and took off towards the outskirts of the field.

"Do you have any other horses?" Cain growled to the handler and I stifled a snort.

"Sorry, she's our only…"

"It's fine." Cain narrowed his eyes and readjusted his hat quickly before stalking out to the middle of the field. Dg on the other hand was a natural on the beautiful horse, another one of her hidden talents.

"Cain not know how to deal with her…"

"Jesus, Raw! Can't you warn a guy before you come stalking up behind him?" I tried to catch my breath after he scared the living daylights out of me. Raw just shrugged and watched as Cain stood stupidly in the middle of the field trying to get Dg to stop. I got it back together and put my hands in my pockets, watching as Cain trudged back towards the fence psychotically. Dg smirked at the back of his head, but I could tell that something was bothering her. She hesitated for a moment and it was all the horse needed. As if in slow motion, I watched as Dg was thrown from the horse. She didn't scream; in fact, her face looked more thrilled then anything.

"DG!!" Cain's shocked yelp made everything move in fast-forward. I watched, frozen in shock as Dg hit the ground hard. Within seconds, Cain was by her side and I was on his heels, jumping the fence as quickly as possible. Raw too had seen the accident and he wasn't far behind. "Dg! Oh Gods, what did you do?" Cain murmured, checking her unconscious body for wounds before gently lifting her into his arms. I had never seen a man more concerned then Cain… not even when he had found his wife's grave. Dg groaned and her eyes fluttered open slightly. She gently and slowly connected with Cain's piercing eyes, which were filling with tears. I knelt down in front of her to make sure she was alright, but I went unnoticed as she raised her arm to trace the worry lines on Cain's face. She winced and I couldn't tell if it was because of her pain or Cain's. Raw joined me down by Dg's feet and he gently placed his paw on her foot. Raw too went unnoticed as he worked his magic. Within seconds, Dg was healed and it was clear by the look on her face that she didn't care. She had other things on her mind. Dg sat up straighter in Cain's lap and for once, he didn't back away. I stood up and shot Raw a look as I watched this unfold.

"I'm sorry I got on the horse…" Dg breathed, hand still ghosting along Cain's jaw line.

"You scared the hell out of me…" He whispered back, hand on the middle of her back, holding her close to his chest.

"The things a girl will do to get a guy's attention…" I offered, momentarily interjecting. Cain broke his gaze from Dg to look at me. I whistled innocently and rolled my eyes, gesturing to Raw that we should leave the two alone. The furball got the hint.

Dg's horse was now trotting jauntily around the open field and I realized as Raw and I walked back to the fence that we had drawn a huge audience. I glanced over my shoulder at Cain and Dg and they were completely oblivious to the crowd. I watched as Cain stroked her cheek with his thumb, right over the wings of the fairy that was painted there. I heard a slight 'awww' ripple through the crowd. Not wanting to disturb the two after so long at their little game, I acted fast.

"Okay, okay, nothing to see here!" I waved my arms and tried to dispel the crowd that had gathered. Luckily, people obliged and stepped away from the fence. I jumped when someone clapped me violently on the back.

"Sweet Papay, Raw, I swear to all that is good and holy that I'll…"

"You'll what?" Cain asked, smugly. I shut my mouth as quickly as it had opened and smiled inconspicuously. Soon, I realized that Cain was carrying Dg on his back. She too had a strangely smug look on her face and I narrowed my eyes.

"Why do I feel like you're not telling me something?" I hinted, wondering if I had missed a monumental turning point in their relationship.

"What in the world would I have to tell you, Glitch?" Dg asked sweetly, slyly. Cain smirked and clasped on hand on my shoulder, while the other propped Dg up on his back.

"Dg broke her ankle and she probably has a concussion. We're going to keep an eye on her for a little while." Cain explained, as if nothing had happened in the past ten minutes. He secured his other arm beneath Dg's leg and walked past me in the direction of the palace. I folded my arms in frustration and turned to follow, only to see Dg lean her head forward and whisper something to Cain, who chuckled softly.

"Okay, did I miss something?" I demanded, trying to catch up with the lumbering Tin Man. He didn't answer and Dg giggled. "Raw?" I looked to the Viewer who held up his hands in defense.

"Raw not kiss and tell…"

At this, Dg snorted and struggled with all her might not to burst out laughing.

"What the hell was that skit back there in the field then?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Glitch." Cain spoke.

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you two not…" Friend or not, it really wasn't my place to delve into the romantic life of the Princess of the OZ.

"Not what?" Dg prodded. I realized quickly that I was being made fun of and it ticked me off. I took a moment to gather my thoughts and stay calm, but it was getting increasingly difficult to stay mellow. Dg took my momentary recess to change the subject handily. "Can I have some cotton candy?" She asked Cain sweetly.

I didn't catch what Cain said next, but it sounded something like, "You can have anything you desire…"


End file.
